Ukrainian drone warfare pioneers Magyar’s Birds to expand threefold into full-fledged brigade

Ukraine's elite drone regiment, famed for devastating strikes on Russian forces, upgrades to brigade status while continuing combat, commander Robert Brovdi announced.

Dec 10, 2024 - 20:00

Ukrainian drone warfare pioneers Magyar’s Birds to expand threefold into full-fledged brigade

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Ukraine’s renowned drone warfare unit, the “Madyar’s Birds” Regiment, is set to expand into a brigade, marking an unprecedented transformation in its operational capacity, the unit’s commander Robert Brovdi, known by his call sign Madyar, announced on 10 December.

The Madyar’s Birds specializes in strike drone operations, electronic reconnaissance and warfare systems, remote mining using drones, patrol missions, and fire correction. Additionally, it produces specialized drone munitions in the tens of thousands for both its own use and other drone units. In September, Ukraine pioneered the creation of Unmanned Systems Forces, a new military branch, integrating various unmanned and robotic systems across multiple domains.

The unit, officially known as the 414th Independent Strike Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment, currently operates as part of the Ukrainian Army’s Marine Corps. According to the commander, it will undergo a significant expansion that will triple its personnel strength and number of detachments while increasing its combat capabilities.

“No one has withdrawn us from the war, we continue our intensive activities on a wide strip of the front, from KUNR (“Kursk People’s Republic,” a humorous term for Kursk Oblast, ridiculing Russia’s so-called people’s republics in Luhansk and Donetsk, – Ed.) to practically the entire length of the strip in the East, where we alone cover over 140 kilometers,” Brovdi said in a video address. He added that the unit operates quietly in certain areas, declining to specify their locations.